Disclaimer: You all know that anything you know directly from Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling (unfortunately) but the plot is mine, with help from the Severitus challenge

Chapter 2) Different

When Hadrian woke up the sky was blue and orange. It was much later than when he had drifted off. Groggily he sat up and stretched, wincing as his collar tightened and his skin cracked. He cracked his knuckles and looked at the fence separating the many yards of Privet Drive. Strangely, there didn't seem to be anyone around. Usually Aunt would send him straight to the cupboard with a swing from the frying pan for staying outside where people could notice him. Brushing the grass of his face and arms, he turned cautiously towards the house. All windows were dark Amazingly, Uncle had yet to come barreling into the yard with the keychain, or another object to teach him lesson. In fact it was downright peaceful; which in and of itself was at least a little frightening. Hadrian could not remember the last time he had had a quiet moment, probably the last family trip Uncle and Aunt had taken Dudley on almost two years ago.

The outing had been a school trip to the local zoo. Aunt and Uncle had volunteered to be chaperones for Dudley's group, and were bound by contract to go. That trip had been interesting in two ways. He had been brought along in the first place, an unimaginable occurrence in and of itself, usually they would just lock him in his cupboard with a few crackers, a glass of water, and a bucket. This time however, Dudley's teacher had left Uncle no choice when he asked the day before the trip what had happened to the shy pupil that he had been teaching in the beginning of the year that had been suddenly transferred to a different school after he had raised concerns about the boy's relationship with his guardians. Unable to quickly find a suitable cover story for the suspecting teacher, Aunt and Uncle brought Hadrian along to get the teacher off their backs. So Hadrian found himself dowsed in powder to combat the sickly green and purple bruises received from his latest beating, without his collar and dressed in clothes Aunt had bought for Dudley three years ago. He had followed shortly behind the group of kids stopping to gaze at the animals in their enclosures. The careful balance came crashing down when Hadrian stopped in the reptile house and had a surprisingly interesting conversation with a large boa constrictor. Uncle had not taken kindly to this blatant display of freakism and had roughly shoved a small amount of money into Hadrian's hand, pointing him in the direction of the bus station. That was the first time Hadrian had ever used public transportation, but he had made it back in one piece. The bus ride had been very peaceful.

When he had finally made it back to Uncle's house, he had sat on the back porch and weeded the garden until his caretakers returned. That night he had been beaten harshly and shocked for so long that his fingers shook for three days afterword. He had not been outside the house, except for chores and the occasional school day, since.

It would probably be a good idea to head back in before they caught him.

clack, clack, click…

The back of Hadrian's neck prickled as he slowly turned around. Behind him on the fence was an owl, tawny and brown flecked, with a letter carefully tied to its foot. Hadrian started. What the hell was an owl doing at Uncle's house? Aunt was going to go crazy if she saw this bird in the backyard. He Had to get rid of it, he had a beating just yesterday and he didn't need another one on top of the one he was most likely to get for sleeping in the backyard.

He tried shooing the bird away, but it only stuck out one leg in protest and clenched the post more tightly. Darn. He tried again, noticing again the letter clutched in a talon. Untying the letter the bird stopped fighting him and turned its' large golden eyes on him, waiting. The letter itself was… Different. It was made of thick creamy paper and it simply said: To Hadrian Potter, Backyard of number four Privet Drive; Surrey in place of a postage stamp. The flap of the envelope was secured with a red wax seal displaying a badger, raven, lion, and a coiled snake on a shield. Breaking it open carefully, he revealed the thick yellowed paper of what surprisingly appeared to be a school acceptance letter. Hadrian wondered about that, he had never even gone to primary school on a regular basis, so how had he qualified for a private boarding school he had no clue. Opening the thick paper Hadrian read:

Dear Mr. Potter and guardians,

I, The Deputy Headmistress Minerva Mcgonagall, am writing to tell you that your charge (one Harry Potter) has been accepted into Hogwarts; School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts is a boarding school, food and lodgings will be provided. Please send a reply by the no later than the thirty-first of July.

We, the staff at Hogwarts, hope you will accept.

You Will require:

1 set of robes, black, with a blank Hogwarts crest

1 winter cloak, silver fastenings

2 dress robes, any color

1 pointy black hat, for use in ceremonies

3 pairs of shoes, black, including a pair of regular trainers and dress shoes

10 rolls of parchment, at Least

1 container of 5 quills, at Least

3 jars of black Indian ink, at Least

1 set of first year books;

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

1 pewter caldron

1 map of the night sky (Telescopes will be provided)

1 set of brass scales

1 wand

You may also bring a familiar; owl, cat or, toad

(you may request to bring a different animal, but this request must be made before the school year)

All supplies can be bought at Diagon alley, London. Look for the Leaky Cauldron. The first day of term is September the first, please arrive at the King's Cross platform nine and three-quarters by no later than twelve to board the school train. Tickets are included in the envelope.

Your future Deputy Headmistress,

Minerva Mcgonagall

Hadrian paused. Witchcraft. Wizardry. This was a letter either written by a crazy lady, or it was an unbelievable opportunity. Hadrian hoped it was the later. If this invitation was real he could escape the Dursley's if he played his cards right. He would give anything to leave this prison and get away from Uncle. He had to accept. Hadrian got a pen from the backyard shed, going as quickly and neatly as he could, and scrawled an affirmative on a piece of lined paper. Giving it to the owl he said, "Take this to Hogwarts please," and it flew off.

Hadrian sat down on the porch step, thinking about how he was supposed to afford all of the things on the list. Hadrian could never dream of asking Uncle or Aunt, and he doubted he find a well paying job at his age, so he would have to steal it. That would be simple as he planned on leaving directly after, and if not, there was a fifty percent chance that they would think that Dudley had taken it. There was also the problem of getting to London, but Hadrian figured he could just take the bus and go himself. Unfortunately that meant he need more money.

Hadrian snuck into the house to his cupboard after listening to the droning of the television and the snores of Uncle and Aunt. Hadrian set about gathering his broken crayons and a book on plants. He gathered the blankets and rags he used as clothes and wrapped it all up in his bed sheet, feeling similar to Huckleberry Finn. Finally he made his way into the kitchen tucking away some cheese and a few slices of bread. Taking Aunt's purse from the wrack in the hallway, he took out a wad of bills, probably about thirty pounds. He hoped it would be enough to get him to London and buy whatever he needed for school.

Gathering his rucksack Hadrian opened the door when he heard Dudley come lumbering down the stairs rubbing his eyes. Spotting Hadrian the pudgy face scrunched up in anger. Dudley wobbled over to Hadrian and grabbed the collar dragging him into the living room Yelling at Uncle and Aunt. Uncle's eyes snapped open and made their way slowly to Hadrian's bag. Uncle stood over Hadrian and unbuckled the belt from around his waist

"Where do you think you're going freak?" Harry coward under the presence of Uncle.

"N-No where sir, just doing my laundry-" Uncle snatched the bag from his hands, ripping it open and shaking it in Hadrian's face.

"You Call This LAUNDRY!?" the man's face turned purple, and a stream of saliva ran down the corner of Uncle's mouth. Hadrian cringed and shrank back against Dudley's legs, receiving a kick to his lower back that sent him sprawling over Uncle's shoes. That is when the first lash came.

The first ten tore the threadbare shirt off his back, and the next flayed his skin. Where the belt didn't shred it cause large angry welts, which were especially painful when hit for the second or third time. Uncle raised his arm again and again until Hadrian's back was a mess of raw flesh that looked like the product of a meat grinder. Then Uncle proceeded to punch and kick every last inch of remaining skin, following with a few more lashes with his belt buckle. Delivering one last lash followed by a strong kick to Hadrian's side Uncle used the key fob to electrocute him. Hadrian tried to endure the pain in silence but broke when Uncle ground a cigar into his lower back. "Bring me the knife Dudley." Hadrian's eyes widened, Uncle had never used a knife on him before, only threatened. Surely being caught running away was not any worse than using freakism at the zoo, surely this beating couldn't be any worse! Dudley ran to the kitchen and brought back a thin carving knife with a wooden handle, giving it to Uncle. Uncle fingered it, running his finger down the blade before driving it into Hadrian's shoulder and dragging it across his chest. Wrenching the knife Uncle slashed his chest to the point that Hadrian couldn't mask his screams and bit his lip clean through. Hadrian looked down to see the word 'FREAK' cut across his chest and on to his shoulder like a brand. Dragging the knife up from the 'K' to Hadrian's collarbone and up to his neck, thinly slicing the soft skin under his chin. Slowly coming over the jaw, Uncle jerked the blade across Hadrian's cheek. Repeated on the other side of his face, he felt the blood trickling through his gritted teeth. The cuts on his chest and face were long and deep, Hadrian could see the blood flowing slowly out of the slashes. He began to feel the familiar effects of the blood loss starting with the light headed feeling accompanied with a dead numbness in his fingers and toes. He was slowly falling unconscious, probably dying. Grabbing the small boy by his long dirty hair Uncle threw Hadrian in the cupboard and locked the door. Hadrian's hand reached shakily towards the nest, but the blanket was just out of his reach. Too dizzy to stand, or even crawl, Hadrian just laid there. He started to draw swirling flowers on the wall with his blood adding to his dark brown garden, watching as the excess made red streaks down the wood. It became harder and harder to see the lines over the encroaching blackness of his vision, and his body went limp as Hadrian passed out from the pain and blood loss.

A little while later it was opened and Aunt placed a dog bowl filled with water and kibble in one corner. She hesitated before placing Hadrian's sack at the edge of the nest. She placed the letter on top of it with a sandwich and a clean pair of Dudley's old clothes. Aunt removed a necklace with a small green gem. Jerking it from the chain she crushed it, letting an amber liquid drizzle into Hadrian's mouth. She then kissed the tips of her fingers before letting them fall to rest on his forehead. A green glow surrounded her hand, and she moved it up and down his body. As the green light reached his back he cried as a hot tingling raced through the tortured flesh, especially around the stab wounds. Aunt clapped her other hand over his mouth and continued spreading the light over his body. His wounds slowly numbed, healing. When the light was gone Aunt backed out of the cupboard.

"I wont pretend to like you, I barely tolerate your kind of poison in my house, and I had planned to save this for my son should he ever need it," Aunt said stiffly. "Vernon was out of line today. Discipline, great. Chores, fine. I didn't sign up for you, and it's the fault of that wizard that everything happens to this house and my family, but," and she paused, "I do not condone torture. If you're not gone by morning Vernon might just kill you, and who knows how that will affect Dudley? My son has been tainted by my husband because of you, therefore you are going to leave for that school of your mother's and never come back you hear me? Don't come back ever, you won't have my sympathy a second time. Go as soon as you can and tell those freaks that they can stop ruining my life." She stood leaving the door open. "Now go." Aunt left and climbed the stairs, Hadrian heard the master bedroom door closing a heartbeat later.

"Magic," Hadrian whispered. He stood shakily and gathered his things, slipping on the new clothes. He stored the kibble for later and drank the water.

He slung the sack over his uninjured shoulder. Hadrian limped out the door, and said goodbye to the house. He unbuckled the collar and left it on the

porch.